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Guest
Column
Mike Watt
Welcome to the first installation of
Thrasher's Guest Column. Skaters
musicians and philosophers will
flick their boogers on the wall for all
to contemplate. This month's col-
umn was written by Mike Watt, bass
commander of fIREHOSE, whose
Ep, Live Totem Pole boldly goes
where no bass has gone before.
WHY I PLAY MY BASS AS IF I WAS RIDING A SKATEBOARD
We were playing a gig in Fayetteville, Arkansas, that had a skate ramp as well as a small
punk rock club on the same grounds. As we were doing the sound check, I was watching
out the window, seeing some dude wall around on his skateboard. At the same time, we
were playing our song. "O'er The Town Of Padro," which has plenty of dives and swoops.
As we continued, I started to imagine that I was plowing a trail with my thunder broom (okay.
bass) at a million miles an hour-my hand coming down on my machine with all the inten
sity of them wheels on that guy's board! Then, SNAPI in my brain: parallel universes!
Wheels within wheels. What is the bass to me but some kind of conduit, some kind of
pipeline, some kind of connect device? Beyond that, am I actually playing it? I can't see
What I am doing is little more than riding the motherfucker. A song is nothing more than a
hill to propel myself and machine on the hellride of a life time. Pushing it further, further,
intenser. Letting up to move with the flow and then SLAM! and POP!-'m airborne and then
SMACK! back down to the pavement, grinding out the mega-torque only a skateboard bass
can deliver
Here's an old idea that can illustrate what I'm really talking about: think of a pocket knife.
Next, think of a hunk of wood. Now what you want, what you need, what you dream is
somehow in that wood. You can even see it in your mind as you stare at the chunk. That
pocket knife will help you get there. I hope you're not thinking about the materialism of it. It's
the act of doing it, not the item itself. You, in a symphony with the physical world, acting on it
and experiencing the results-your proof to yourself that you are in fact, truly alive. Seeing
things this way makes it very clear that a bass is but a skateboard with strings instead of
wheels. Both tools for the life-song you and I are writing right now!
Bring yourself to beat with the physical world. Act upon it and interpret the results for your-
self. Your relationship with your machine becomes personalized by the trauma. This will give
birth to your "craft," your way of dealing with this life. Things will both make sense and lead
to more questions as you ride/play your device. This is why I work my thunder broom the
way I do. That is why I feel my bass is my skateboard. I try to play ride/wrestle it like it was
my last act of defiance, the way I see most dudes wail on their boards. Most important of all,
I'm trying for the most intense feeling I can have. Most real? Most alive? I'm talking about
everything outside me and everything inside me welded together via this vehicle. In machine
words: only a vehicle. In personal terms: my one and only hellride.
PRODUCT PATROL (rom page 16)
lean and mean with little fat. Hard stain job and rad shape. 32.375 x 8.93. 7.125 nose, 6.5
tail and 13.75 base. After Blind mutated the graphic, Claudia Schiffer showed up on Adam
McNatt's Powell belly. The smallest shape around, it features a shallow cave and thin
shape. This is the flipper deck for sure. 31.50 x 9.25, A 6.75 nose, 6.0 tail and 13.50 base...
A Nimbus is a cloudy radiance that surrounds the head of a deity. The number 5 deck isn'
from heaven but is worthy of note. A simple shape and no-hype attitude. 32. 25 x 9.25, 7.0
nose, 6.125 tail and large 14.0 base... Montessi New Deal, yeah he's pro, his load kicks it
bad. Basic shape, cave, and full paint, it will be here for awhile. 32.25 x 9.25, 7.0 nose, 6.25
tail and 13.75 base. While I'm here I'll slay the Justin Girard. Twist graphic will be in serious
demand. Shape is hard to beat and right on track. The Three Little Pigs is 32.25 x 9.0, 7.0
nose, 6.25 tail and 13.75 base. New Deal is for real... Think about Josh Swindell, his load
is over the top. Longer than most, but a minimalistic shape makes it a mover. "Safe Sex" is
the name and it's dimensions follow: 32.75 x 9.25, 7.0 nose, 6.25 tail and 13.75 base. A
good all-around slick. East Coast gnarlmeister Mike Kepper's slab is bad axe too. The
woody features a half-full paint job that is a dream to slide. At 32.65 x 9.0, 6.75 nose, 6.5 tail
and 14.0 base. Bertino and Adams models also available... Simple shoes called Bam-
Bams have thick leather upper with the strongest stitching around. Add rear heel reinforce
ment for stability and it's all over. Write: Jake Phelps, 1303 Underwood Ave, SF, CA 94124.
These two pages of Pat Duffy are
brought to you by Thunder Trucks
and Spitfire Wheels with the
grateful assitance of the Soci-
ety for the Preservation of
Co-Advertising. Two
skateboard companies
working together to
bring you larger
sequences of
their team
riders skate-
boarding
well.
2
18 THRASHER MAGAZINE